


Surf's Up

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [61]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Endearments, Established Relationship, M/M, Prompt Fill, Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 23:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6681211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LJ Comment Fic for Seasons prompt: <i>Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard +/ Rodney McKay, summertime surfing</i></p><p>In which three little words are said for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surf's Up

Rodney didn’t say the words, but he showed John how much he loved him with actions big and small: he made sure there was always a plate of food saved for John when he was too busy to make it to the Mess, and he did his best to give John options so that self-sacrificing heroics were unnecessary when it came to saving the day.

And now Rodney was sitting on a beach in the blazing sun, slathered in so much of his homemade sunblock he probably looked like he was in the middle of a facial. It was too windy for an umbrella, so he had to make do with the floppy hat he had tied under his chin, and wrap-around sunglasses. It was worth it for the view.

John was out on his surfboard, an elegant, beautiful Nereid with spiky hair and knobby knees. He took Rodney’s breath away, though it was more for the risks he was taking than for how gorgeous he looked taking them. The waves off the Australian coast were big, much too big, but so far John had managed to stay on his feet.

The trip had been Rodney’s idea, a get-away from the stress of Atlantis being on Earth and not knowing if or when they’d be given clearance to return to Pegasus. He knew it was hard on John, especially, because there was the ever-present concern that he could be reassigned. Rodney wasn’t sure what he’d do if John wasn’t part of Atlantis anymore; he didn’t think he could stand being there without him.

Rodney watched as John paddled back out and waited for another good swell, his legs dangling off the board in the water. There were a lot of other surfers out enjoying the choppy sea, but Rodney could easily pick John out of the crowd, even at a distance.

John caught the next wave and Rodney watched with his heart in his throat, even as he admired John’s form. He was as flexible as any of the younger guys out there, hips swiveling as he maneuvered the board through the wall of water. John rode the wave all the way in, and jogged up the beach with his board under his arm, a bright grin on his face.

“I still got it,” he said. He propped up the board and dropped into the empty camp chair next to Rodney. Rodney passed him a bottle of water from the cooler.

“Those young guys got nothing on you,” Rodney agreed. 

“You calling me an old man?” John asked. The grin hadn’t left his face, though, so Rodney knew he was teasing.

“Neither of us are getting any younger, Sheppard.” That being said, Rodney didn’t think he’d ever get tired of looking at John. From a purely physical standpoint, the man hit all of Rodney’s buttons. The fact that he had a pretty keen brain under all those cowlicks was an added bonus.

“No one else I want to grow old with,” John said. His tone was light, like the words didn’t matter, but his ears were pink and he was looking at the bottle in his hands instead of Rodney.

Rodney was certain his heart skipped a beat, and not in a poetic kind of way. He and John weren’t the kind of people who exchanged endearments; there’d never really been a need. There was no-one that Rodney knew as well as John, and he felt confident that was reciprocated.

But maybe there were times when the words needed to be said.

Rodney tugged at John’s wrist, until John got up. He straddled Rodney, which put a noticeable strain on the camp chair, and Rodney immediately pulled him in for a kiss.

“I love you, too,” he whispered against John’s lips.

John kissed him back hard, stealing away his breath yet again. Any further words would’ve been unnecessary anyway.


End file.
